Alert archive / Kentucky / Tornado Watches in 2021
Tornado Watch 55
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 25, 2021, 9:26 PM CDT for 25 counties in Kentucky; 20 counties in Tennessee. It was in force for 2 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Mar 25, 2021, 9:26 PM CDT (02:26 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 25, 2021, 11:47 PM CDT
- In force
- 2 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 45 counties
Adair County, KY, Boyle County, KY, Casey County, KY, Clinton County, KY, Cumberland County, KY, Estill County, KY, Garrard County, KY, Green County, KY, Jackson County, KY, Jessamine County, KY, Knox County, KY, Laurel County, KY, Lincoln County, KY, Madison County, KY, Marion County, KY, McCreary County, KY, Mercer County, KY, Nelson County, KY, Pulaski County, KY, Rockcastle County, KY, Russell County, KY, Taylor County, KY, Washington County, KY, Wayne County, KY, Whitley County, KY, Anderson County, TN, Bledsoe County, TN, Bradley County, TN, Campbell County, TN, Cumberland County, TN, Fentress County, TN, Hamilton County, TN, Knox County, TN, Loudon County, TN, Marion County, TN, McMinn County, TN, Meigs County, TN, Morgan County, TN, Overton County, TN, Pickett County, TN, Rhea County, TN, Roane County, TN, Scott County, TN, Sequatchie County, TN, Union County, TN
The radar
The Jackson,KY radar (KJKL), 128 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:25 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
What SPC expected
The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.
- Two or more tornadoes
- 30%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 20%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 40%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 10%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 10%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 10%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 60%
Warnings issued inside it
8 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 25, 9:42 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LMK | Hardin, Hart, Larue, Nelson | 33 min |
| Mar 25, 9:45 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LMK | Hardin, Larue, Nelson | 30 min |
| Mar 25, 9:57 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LMK | Clinton | 15 min |
| Mar 25, 10:01 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LMK | Boyle, Green, Larue, Marion, Mercer, Nelson and 2 more | 29 min |
| Mar 25, 10:02 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JKL | McCreary, Pulaski, Wayne | 28 min |
| Mar 25, 10:03 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LMK | Marion, Nelson, Washington | 27 min |
| Mar 25, 10:06 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JKL | Pulaski, Wayne | 24 min |
| Mar 25, 10:25 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JKL | Pulaski, Wayne | 12 min |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
The nearest sounding before it
Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 00:00Z, 2.4 hours before the alert went out and 208 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 290 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -73 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 615 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 85 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 657 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 631 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.0
- Supercell composite
- 7.4
The text
As transmitted.
120 WWUS20 KWNS 260223 SEL5 SPC WW 260223 KYZ000-TNZ000-260600- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 55 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 1025 PM EDT Thu Mar 25 2021 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Eastern Kentucky Eastern Tennessee * Effective this Thursday night and Friday morning from 1025 PM until 200 AM EDT. * Primary threats include... A couple tornadoes possible Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible SUMMARY...Multiple clusters should move east from central Kentucky and Middle Tennessee with a continued threat for a couple tornadoes and scattered damaging winds. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 50 statute miles east and west of a line from 25 miles east northeast of Lexington KY to 60 miles south southwest of Crossville TN. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU5). PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... REMEMBER...A Tornado Watch means conditions are favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible warnings. && OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 51...WW 52...WW 53...WW 54... AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to 1 inch. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 450. Mean storm motion vector 24045. ...Grams
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 25, 9:07 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adair, Allen, Anderson, Barren, Boone, Boyle and 40 more | 83 min |
| Mar 25, 7:00 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Franklin, Giles, Lawrence, Lincoln, Wayne | 30 min |
| Mar 25, 7:36 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bedford, Cannon, Coffee, Davidson, DeKalb, Grundy and 11 more | 84 min |
| Mar 25, 7:57 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Franklin, Giles, Lawrence, Lincoln, Moore, Wayne | 3 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Kentucky, 2021Tornado Watches in Tennessee, 2021Every tornado watch in 2021
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.